Strange Friends
by Gambitgirl1974
Summary: A series of short stories broken into chapters about RazerXAya from Green Lantern: The Animated Series, created with my exceptional writing collaborator Utopiangem. The naive yet brave spaceship and her handsomely snarky companion are just irresistible, don't you think?
1. Chapter 1

**The Social Network **

Since coming online Aya's interest in consuming data had grown, and the AI's curiosity to learn more than what was available in the Guardian's extensive databases had become challenging for the occupants of the Interceptor. Aya routinely peppered Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Kilowog with inquiries about sectors of Oan space she'd not yet encountered, the new and interesting cultures they explored in the Forgotten Zone, and sometimes complicated questions about socialization and etiquette customs of various species.

After a particularly circular round of questions that made Hal pinch the bridge of his nose in the universal gesture for "give me strength" he suggested Aya start a primary data search.

"Aya, get a Space Book account. You can meet all sorts of beings through there, then you won't have to rely only on me to…er…supply data for your queries."

"Excellent idea, Green Lantern Hal Jordan. I will begin my Space Book research immediately."

Upon completion of her account setup, Aya immediately input search parameters for beings residing in the Interceptor's current quadrant.

Aya initiated a request for acquaintance with the first name on the list, as the being's location was closest to her current spatial proximity. She received confirmation and acceptance of her request shortly and immediately stood up from her station, heading to the back of the Interceptor.

"According to the social network platform we are now friends."

Razer jumped in surprise at her sudden appearance behind him at his station near the ultra-warp coils. He turned around to regard the glowing green figure looking up at him with curiosity. Razer had assumed Jordan was playing a joke when the notification appeared on his monitor and he clicked "accept" just to make vanish from his monitor. Apparently not.

"Hn. This Space Book of Jordan's seems to think so."

"Your vocal engram indicates skepticism. You disagree with the Space Book assessment?"

"...No, the assessment is accurate enough."

"Then we are friends." Aya held out her upper right extremity in the standard Earth greeting Green Lantern Hal Jordan taught her. "You are my first friend."

Razer stared at her outstretched limb for a moment before recalling this was the "shake hands" gesture.

"Very well," he muttered as he extended his own hand to reciprocate.

Aya shook his hand in five measured and precise up-down movements then released her grip.

"What do friends of the Space Book do? I have no data for this protocol."

Razer paused. "Nor do I. I simply joined to make Jordan shut up." Razer paused then turned back to his terminal, opening a Space Book access screen and tapped an icon.

"!" Aya jumped minutely, clearly startled. "I have received digital notification of a 'poke' through my interface with the network."

Razer felt an unfamiliar tugging at the corner of his mouth at her words. The AI could be unexpectedly amusing at times.

"I will reciprocate."

Razer's panel flashed bright green, not its usual red, when his account received Aya's poke. "Hn, intriguing."

"Friends of the Space Book poke each other through this interface."Aya confirmed, as though backing up this new data in her memory. "To what purpose?"

Razer thought she had the potential to be annoying if her voice was not always so polite and modulated to produce a soft and pleasant tone. He shrugged and leaned again his work station. "I do not think there is one. It is seems rather pointless."

"A point is required for the Space Book interactions?" Aya queried.

The Red Lantern could not believe he was engaged in such an inane conversation, but couldn't help responding, "I would think everything has a point, some meaning."

Aya processed this information with a nod. "Then there is a point to the poke. I will learn the meaning of it in time with additional data." She poked Razer again, his panel flashing luminous green.

"…" Razer clicked the poke option again and definitely struggled to maintain a neutral expression when Aya jumped once.

"This is an interesting phenomenon." Her voice simulated wonder near perfectly, the Red Lantern noted.

"It is…strangely addictive," he conceded and his work panel continued to flash green as he and Aya traded poke notifications for a few more moments.

"Affirmative." Aya tilted her head to the left in the manner Razer had come to associate with puzzlement. She extended her right arm. "I require a poke to this physical extremity to acquire more data."

Razer paused from tapping the panel intermittently. "What?"

"I am an artificial intelligence that exists in both digital and corporeal space. I require additional input from both interfaces to assess the meaning of poking."

"…you want me to poke you." Razer said flatly. "In your arm."

"Correct." Aya held her arm perfectly stationary at a 45 degree angle from the floor.

Razer sighed. She was an odd computer. "Very well." He extended one fingertip and prodded her forearm paneling gently.

Aya looked down, assessing. "I have acquired no significant data in determining the meaning of the poke from physical contact." She then poked Razer in the identical spot on his own arm.

"!" His eyes widened and Aya watched him in her serene and unblinking way.

"Have you received significant data?"

"…No."

"Thank you for contributing to the expansion of my database, Razer."

"It is no matter." He turned back to his work station

"I disagree. Proving a negative is valuable part of scientific inquiry and exploration."

That was a rather philosophical response from a computer, Razer though as he attempted to return his focus to his work. He caught Aya's reflection in the panel and saw a slight, bright motion before he felt another touch to his arm.

He looked down at the glowing green finger resting on his arm. "Do you require additional data, Aya?"

"No, but you did state this is an addictive behavior." She poked him again.

Razer's brow lifted in surprise and no small amusement. "Don't tell me you are capable of addiction."

"Negative." Poke, poke, poke. "I am emulating addictive behavior found in many humanoid life forms."

Razer was knew Aya was completely serious, but the studious way in which she focused all her attention on poking his arm repeatedly, varying the time her finger made contact with his arm, the pressure applied, the intermission between each physical contact, was almost laughable. She was the strangest computer he had ever met.

He couldn't help but watch her experiment with her new data set for another few moments until one particular poke hit a nerve in his arm that made it tingle unpleasantly.

"…Aya." He wrapped his hand around hers, pulling it back.

"Razer."

"You can stop that now."

Aya nodded again and dropped her hand to her side. "Thank you for allowing me to practice the poke. I will continue to refine my poking technique with Green Lantern Kilowog. I may gather significant data from another species."

Razer smirked at idea of the green figure prodding the surly Bolovaxian repeatedly. "Make sure I am there when you do. To observe, of course."

"Of course. Will you poke Green Lantern Hal Jordan, so I may observe and gather data?"

Razer blinked, defensive. "I will not poke Jordan."

"You will not assist me in gathering data to determine the point of the poke?"

Razer crossed his arm over his chest. "I do not want to poke him."

"Then you will not assist me in gathering data to determine the point of the poke." Aya nodded. All she'd done was modulate her tone to turn her question into a statement, but something about the way she did it sounded…disappointed.

Razer sighed. "…I will assist you, if you need it." He had no idea why he just said that.

"My programming requires additional data to resolve this query."

The Red Lantern held up his index finger. "Very well, I will poke him. Once."

Aya's clear blue eyes looked up at him, and if he had to ascribe a word to her expression it would be earnest. "Thank you, Razer. When I am presented with a query I am compelled to resolve it efficiently so I may devote my processing power to other matters."

"You're welcome." Razer knew he sounded surly, he couldn't help it. He was going to have to poke Jordan now. But Aya looked so…pleased he couldn't flat out refuse her, not without seeming unreasonably rude over such a, truly, harmless request. "That's what friends are for," he grumbled.


	2. Chapter 2

A Little Less Conversation

Aya was seated at the com at 0600 standard Oan time, running scans of the quadrant for anything that would lead the crew of the Interceptor to Shard. The mobile HQ of the Reds had proven frustratingly elusive, despite Razer's assistance in recalibrating the ship's sensors to detect residual Red Lantern energy.

Although a significant portion of her processing power was dedicated to the grid search pattern laid out by Green Lantern Hal Jordan before he entered his sleep cycle, Aya also did an inventory of consumables in the pantry, updated the ultra-warp repair status report for the next transmission to Oa, and exchanged data with a Space Book acquaintance. GX-742 was rudimentary A.I. from Galven 7 that lacked any social awareness or acumen but always presented the most intriguing mathematical theorems.

Aya nodded to Razer when he entered the bridge; the alien often terminated his sleep cycle before Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Kilowog. Sometimes he remained in his quarters, other times he came to the bridge to sit in silence, staring at the monitors before him as they scanned the vast reaches of the quadrant for his former allies. He was often silent, saying little more than a grumbled greeting as he entered, until one of the Green Lanterns arrived and prompted him or Aya to engage them in verbal exchanges. Green Lanterns appeared to be fond of vocalizing from the time they ended their sleep cycle until they began a new one.

"Good morning, Razer," Aya said automatically as the Red Lantern slid into the chair at the port monitor. Although it was not truly morning as they did not have a view of the relative position of the local solar body as compared to a planetary horizon, Razer had informed this was the customary greeting upon ending one's sleep cycle.

Razer nodded, "Good morning, Aya." He looked out at the star field a moment, then opened a network access window on his work panel and tapped.

"!" Aya started and turned her glowing blue eyes toward Razer. "I have received a poke. I will reciprocate."

Razer had to shield his eye when the monitor in front of him flashed a blindingly bright luminescent green. Blinking away the afterimage on his retinas he looked at Aya and the expression on her face was undeniably…smug. Razer had to wonder where in her databanks she found that particular facial construct; it was exceptionally lifelike.

"I have learned that Green Lantern Kilowog is very sensitive to the poke. It was an illuminating experiment," Aya began without preamble, as though their last conversation about the subject was never interrupted by their mission to Bertrassus.

Razer didn't mind. Her lack of needless exposition and tendency to get immediately to the point was refreshing compared to the meandering and boorish conversations he was forced to engage in with the Green Lanterns.

"Oh? And how did the Sergeant react?"

"Apparently he is ticklish."

"…ticklish?"

"Affirmative. He is prone to involuntary laughter and twitching movements. The lower left third of his thoracic cavity is especially susceptible." This was delivered with such deadpan it actually made the revelation more humorous.

Not that the Red Lantern showed any of that, merely grunting instead, "I will have to remember that."

"Did you conduct your poke experiment on Green Lantern Hal Jordan?"

Razer focused on the star field in front of him, frowning. "Unfortunately."

"I infer you received a negative result." Aya made everything sound so clinical, except in tone. Razer decided he must be imagining the vocal inflection that sounded like…teasing. He knew of no computer, advanced artificial intelligence or not, that subtle or daring.

He spun his chair around to frown at the green figure on the dais. "He took it as a sign I was 'bonding' with this team."

Aya looked back at him placidly. "You perceive the idea of bonding with us as unfortunate?"

How did that manage to sound disappointed and judgmental at once? Razer upper lip curled in annoyance. "He took it as an opportunity to regale me with tales of his Earth life." Like the Red Lantern wanted to hear about the human's mudball world.

"You did not enjoy the experience? I have found Green Lantern Hal Jordan's stories to be quite interesting."

With a huff, Razer spun his chair back around to face the star field once more. "I did not enjoy them at all."

"So you did not reciprocate and share tales of your planet."

The Red Lantern crossed his arms over his chest and slouched in his chair, "No." No obnoxious Green Lantern deserved such confidences.

"I am unable to share such stories. I have no previous experiences before the Interceptor."

Razer blinked. It was disconcerting to be pointedly reminded that Aya, for all her humanoid affectations and curious intellect, didn't actually exist until very recently. Her entire life was measured in months, not years.

Razer wondered when started thinking about this computer having a life?

"…uh…" was the Red Lantern's brilliant contribution to the conversation.

"Uh. My linguistic database is unable to translate."

Razer sighed, "It's just a noise, Aya."

She nodded. "Noise cataloged." She resumed scanning in silence for a long period, and Razer occasionally made adjustments to the Interceptor's sensor array to compensate for cosmic radiation from the nearest solar body.

The Red Lantern appreciated Aya's quiet presence in the mornings, to a degree. She did not have any compulsion to full up the silence with nonstop chatter, appearing as undisturbed by the lack of conversation as he was. Although she sometimes instigated a line of inquiry that confounded Red Lantern, like the poking discussion, Razer still thought Aya's company was infinitely preferable to Jordan or his boar of a partner.

Three-quarter of an hour passed, the only sound the low hum of the Interceptor's engine and their own digits tapping across instrument panels before she broke the silence, once more.

"Approaching planetary body designated Rixt 5. Razer, you indicated the Red Lanterns previously visited this planet, but there is no evidence of colonization."

"We were told there might be useful minerals there, thought whether that was the truth I don't know. Atrocitus is hardly forthcoming."

"Scans indicate large deposits of diotronium below the planet's surface. It appears your information is accurate."

"Shocking," he muttered dryly.

"You are a valuable source of data on the Red Lanterns, Razer. It is not shocking."

"I was being sarcast - never mind."

"Diotronium is a key mineral in ultra-warp drive components. I recommend we retrieve 203.47 kilograms so spare drive coils can be fabricated."

"Fine. Anything is better than sitting here and doing nothing," Razer pushes to his feet and headed for the cargo bay.

"Razer, according to the chronometer you are due for a recharge," Aya prompted, keeping pace with him.

"I am fine. I will recharge later." He didn't break stride.

"It is recommended that all Green Lanterns retain a full charge when engaged in an extensive mission like ours."

She sounded like a rules and regulations manual when she spoke like that, and it irritated him. "I am NOT a Green Lantern. So long as I feel rage my ring will have fuel."

Aya stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "You have not recharged in many cycles. A space flight is not recommended at your current energy level."

"Get out of my way, Aya," he growled, fists clenched at his sides.

The set of her jaw, or construct approximation of one, was undeniably stubborn. "You are reluctant to recharge."

Razer shifted to move past her and again she blocked his way. "I am not!" he growled.

"The defensive tone of your statement contradicts the truth of it. Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Kilowog demonstrate no such reluctance to recharge."

The Red Lantern could have simply knocked the AI out of his way, but that would have invited more trouble than it was worth.

"Recharging is different for Red Lanterns. Happy? Can we go?" He waved at the cargo bay door.

Aya didn't budge a single millimeter. "Different how?"

Razer stiffened and looked over her head, the urge to get off the ship growing stronger by the moment, but that apparently wasn't going to happen until Aya was satisfied. "The Red Lantern energy is more...visceral than the Green."

"Visceral." Aya's clear eyes glowed as she assessed his statement. "Does it cause you discomfort?"

Razer blinked. What did she care about his comfort or lack thereof? He was only a "valuable source of information," she'd said as much. He stubbornly crossed his arm over his chest and refused to look at Aya, her close scrutiny the only thing causing him discomfort at the moment.

"I must interpret your silence as confirmation, Razer," she said after a few moments.

He didn't blink, just kept his eyes fixed over her head and at the cargo bay door.

"I am sorry...it causes you discomfort."

"You're sorry," Razer said flatly. As if she understood what true regret was, what it felt like.

"Correct. I do not wish for my friend to experience discomfort. I am only concerned your safety will be compromised if your ring fails at an inopportune time."

"You mean the mission will be compromised," Razer corrected. The mission was all Green Lanterns cared about anyway, not that she was actually a Lantern. She just pretended to be one.

"There was no disruption of signal between my neural net and vocal construct. I said what I meant." She nodded and moved back, then turned and headed for the cargo bay door.

Razer stood in place for a moment, surprised. Aya was prioritizing an organic's safety over mission objectives? Perhaps this Guardian computer wasn't like the Manhunters.

"However, my sensors indicate your ring retains enough energy for safe space flight to and from the planet's surface. It is not recommended but it is...acceptable."

Razer smirked and floated after her and out the open bay door. Aya had indirectly conceded he did not have to recharge. Sensor scans or sympathy, he didn't care which at the moment, he was only relieved to put off that hateful ritual a while longer.

"Not recommended but acceptable?" He asked as they flew towards the planet surface. "I didn't know it was in your programming to break one of your precious rules."

Aya turned to look at him as they descended through the ionosphere. "I am capable of bending them, however." Her boosters' then fired, dazzling bright, and she darted past him with what Razer could have sworn was challenging expression.

No, not like the Manhunters at all, Razer mused as he dove to follow her.


	3. Chapter 3

What Do You Have to Fear?

What had started as a simple mission to the planet's surface to pick up some ore for the ultra-warp drive had taken an abrupt about turn when Aya had suddenly wobbled and pitched face forward upon touching down on the planet's surface. Razer grabbed the A.I. and immediately launched back into the air where, upon gaining adequate altitude, she stirred and scanned the planet's surface, announcing the concentrated deposits of diotronium had apparently masked the distinctive energy readings from the same yellow crystal they're previously encountered on the prison asteroid.

"It appears the crystal is quite prevalent in this sector," Aya observed placidly, looking down at the southern continent.

"Feels like it's on every planet we visit," Razer muttered as he sped back towards the Interceptor.

"I would like to analyze the crystal to determine if there is a way to circumvent these effects. They are very unpleasant." Aya was very matter-of fact, as though suffering abrupt power drains was nothing out of the ordinary. "When you return to the surface to collect to the diotronium will you also procure a sample of the crystal?"

Razer looked down at the glowing green figure in his arms."I don't know if that is a good idea. It hurts you…and Green Lanterns."

"Your concern is appreciated, but scientific inquiry requires risk sometimes." Aya nodded, as though confirming to herself this was the right course of action.

She was such an odd computer, curious, determined, and seemingly unconcerned about her own safety.

"Fine," Razer said grudgingly as he floated them into the docking bay of the Interceptor, "But I will need a container for it, perhaps something that can block the energy it's putting out."

"There is selection of containers composed of various allows in the cargo bay. Also, I am sufficiently recovered to walk. Thank you for the assistance."

Razer stutter stepped and realized he'd been carrying Aya through the ship without even realizing it."…yes, right." He set her down on her feet.

She looked up at him with that clear gaze, the one that was entirely unself-conscious. Razer wasn't entirely sure that it was just the face that Aya could scan him down to the molecular level that made her gaze so penetrating.

"I apologize for the inconvenience and hope to determine a method to counteract the effect of the yellow crystal. Then you will not need to carry me."

Razer shifted. For some reason he felt painfully aware his hands were hanging at his sides, useless, and he crossed his arms over his chest. "It is no burden."

"My components are made of a lightweight polymer and metallic allow along with hard light energy constructs. My weight and density are negligible given your upper body strength."

"That's not wha – nevermind," Razer huffed and headed to the cargo bay to pick up a couple of containers to take back to the surface for the ore and crystal.

Now the Red Lantern found himself standing between a finger sized piece of the crystal and Aya; the A.I. seemed determined to approach it, even though her green glow flickered and dimmed with each step.

"Aya, stop that. It's draining you," Razer snapped, putting a hand on her shoulder to keep her back.

She attempted to side step around him. "Exposure effect increases exponentially with proximity. I wish to learn if there is a safe minimum distance."

"Do it with a simulation or something then. That would be more efficient than hurting yourself." He would appeal to her logic, hopefully that would override the unexpected stubborn streak the A.I. had developed.

It seemed to work, as she stepped back until she once again glowed a steady and luminous green once more and began running her fingers over the work panel, head tilted slightly to the left as she studied the data running across the monitor and through her systems. Razer studied her, rather than the data stream, watching for any sign of a flicker of her light.

"According to the biometric scanner the crystal's radiation appears to have a physiological effect on the amygdale equivalent."

"And what does that mean?"

Her clear blue eye flicked to his face once then back down to the panel. "Such stimulus would result in corticotrophin-releasing hormones, stimulating increased production of adrenalin. I hypothesize many organic life forms subjected to prolonged exposure to the crystal would experience physiological responses similar to those produced by concern for one's safety."

"…" Razer took a moment to process her words. Aya was so very clinical it was sometimes easy to lose focus with her lengthy analyses. However she rarely said anything that wasn't of import, so Razer had learned to pay close attention to what she said…and translate. "It makes you afraid?"

She nodded. "Succinct and correct, Razer."

He supposed that was as close a compliment as she was capable of generating. "And this…fear, it renders the Green Lantern energy useless."

"Apparently. However, I am uncertain why it has no effect on your own energy output." Aya studied him frankly, her wide eyes seeming to catalogue his every aspect.

Razer lifted his fist to examine that hated red ring. "I imagine because rage can be fueled by fear. Willpower is much harder to maintain scared out of your wits."

Jordan and the Bolovaxian would never admit to being afraid of anything, and Razer knew that was their weakness. If you don't fear it's because you don't think you have anything to lose, or you're a cocky glurg like Jordan and don't think you ever will lose.

Razer knew that, even when everything you cherished was gone, there was always something worse coming. Hoping for better was beyond pointless, and that was why the Green Lantern's power failed around the yellow crystal. They denied their fear. Razer lived with his, every waking moment. The regret, the pain, the anger it created and fed on at the same time.

Aya's eyes flicked from the ring to Razer's frowning face. "You have the ability to control and channel your fear? But I have never seen you afraid, Razer."

He regarded her steadily. Would she know what fear looked like, felt like, how it filled up every corner of one's mind and crowded out all reason and rationality? She had directives and parameters and hypotheses, but she was also determined and creative, confounding and protective. Perhaps she had an emotional approximate somewhere in those mechanics and constructs. "Aya, we all experience fear."

"I am unsure such ability is contained within my programming."

There she went again, sounding more like a machine than a being. If he could be magnanimous enough to credit her with more than being automaton of the Guardians, why couldn't she? "You are capable of more than you think."

She regarded him steadily, assessing his words. "Thank you, Razer. I believe that, also, are capable of more than you think." She nodded, confirming her own statement and turned back to her work panel.

The Red Lantern blinked. He has no idea how she did that, turned a simple inquiry or statement into something so laden with meaning it felt like a physical weight on his chest. A noncommittal grunt was his only response.

Aya's fingers flitted over the work panel, running innumerable scans of the crystal from a safe distance. "I have no experiential comparison for fear, except that I do not wish to go into stasis involuntarily due to exposure to this radiation."

"That may be a form of fear," he acceded.

Aya paused in her calculations, fingers hovering millimeters above the work surface. "It is an intensely…unpleasant experience, the loss of conscious control of my responses. Are all emotions equally powerful?"

Razer frowned, the tone of her voice an unsettling approximation of confusion. This conversation was veering into territories Razer did not feel comfortable exploring. "Not all of them, but some are equally unpleasant."

Why on earth did he say that? His mouth had apparently started refusing his brain's directives when it came to responding to Aya's questions.

"I would like to gather additional data so I can avoid stimulus that results in such an unpleasant emotion," Aya said, determination in the inflection of her words and the firm line of her mouth as she spoke.

She believed she experienced emotions? What kind of creation had those mad Guardians wrought, Razer wondered.

"What circumstances cause you to feel unpleasant emotions, Razer?" She posed that loaded question as matter-of-factly as she did the ridiculous one about Space Book poking, all queries of seemingly equal importance to her.

Razer frowned and took a step back, arm crossed over his chest defensively. "That is a rather personal question, Aya."

"It was my assumption friends shared personal experiences. You are my first friend. Is my assumption faulty?"

Razer had no idea what to make of that. He thought Aya had simply been parroting whatever socialization directives her programming provided. She was a machine and the concept of actual friendship was as beyond her capabilities as his own, although his reasons were quite different.

However, her expression was so earnest and direct, Razer couldn't help responding, albeit brusquely, "No…your assumption is not faulty, Aya."

It was irritating; this feeling like he'd been forced into a corner, as though telling Aya it wasn't possible to be "friends" with a computer was some sort of cruelty. He was a Red Lantern; cruelty was in his stock in trade. He needed to remember that.

"I have acquired fewer personal experiences compared to you, but I am prepared to share this information in exchange for yours."

Razer snorted. She made it sound as though he was a machine too, one she could plug her queries into and receive data, and it was tiresome.

"That's all well and good Aya, but I've known you nearly your entire life," Razer reminded her tersely, stepping back and away from her probing look.

"Correct. Will you agree to this data exchange?"

"Why should I?" Razer's arm came down in a short sharp motion, cutting the space between them, his temper flaring. Why did she never stop asking question, prodding him for information, dragging from him things he never intended to discuss with anyone, much less a creation of the Guardians!

Aya blinked and opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off.

"I was captured by the Green Lanterns shortly after you initially came online. I was there the first time you assembled….this! From a memory stolen from my mind!" He waved at her physical form, the one that's familiarity prodded a painful spot in his memory nearly every time he look at Aya. "It was just data to you!" his voice spiked in volume and Aya merely blinked at him, as frustratingly serene and undisturbed as always. It was infuriating! All her questions put him off balance, her simulated gestures of kindness and interest, her approximation of dry humor, all the things that had started to dull edge of his rage now served to sharpen it.

"I've been present for nearly every monumental event of your artificial life!" His ring pulsed as his frustration grew. "And I am just a source of data to you!"

Aya stood quite still under Razer's verbal barrage, seemingly unfazed. "…it was not my intention to upset you, Razer," she said calmly, her soft voice modulated to a placating tone. "I only wished to exch – share information with my friend."

The bubble of rage in Razer's chest deflated almost as quickly as it had expanded, and left behind a feeling that he was extremely foolish for shouting at a computer. As if that had ever worked.

He grumbled under his breath, "How lovely for you." Sarcasm, a Red Lantern's favorite shield and weapon, in one.

Usually his barbs fell short and seemed never to pierce Aya's serene veneer. "It was not lovely. I do not enjoy upsetting you. I will refrain from doing so in the future."

Something about her words, maybe it was the unvarnished honesty in them, or the slight unexpected downturn of the side of Aya's mouth, made Razer suddenly felt like the bully he'd always claimed Atrocitus to be.

"I…I shouldn't have yelled at you, Aya."

Aya turned crisply away from Razer and closed the files on her terminal. "I have gathered enough data on the yellow crystal. I will analyze the results via direct interface with the Interceptor's mainframe. Please return the sample to the planet's surface; I do not want it on board. " With that Aya's smooth green features vanished and her parts dropped into a neat pile as she abruptly uploaded herself to the ships' processors.

Razer blinked. He'd never seen her do that, suddenly abandon her physical form and retreat into the digital recesses of the Interceptor's systems. If she'd been a humanoid, or him, Razer would have sworn she had just…gone to her room to sulk? No, he was just projecting. That was a ridiculous notion.

"Aya?"

No response, except most of the luminous green lights in the science station suddenly went dark.

Why did that feel like she just slammed her door?


End file.
